Paid Sick Days for the Working Poor: A Test for Democracy in Wisconsin

Scott Walker Strikes again!

Unfortunately, Milwaukee’s successful initiative has become a target of the political payback strategy of Wisconsin’s corporate special interests and Governor Scott Walker. While studies in San Francisco show that two-thirds of small businesses now support that city’s paid sick leave measure, the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) has gone all out to overturn the will of the voters.

MMAC then turned to the new pro-corporate Republican majority in the state legislature to overturn the Milwaukee voters’ decision. Under the guise of requiring a uniform state standard of family and medical leave, both houses passed a bill denying municipalities the right to make decisions on paid sick days.

Fittingly, Governor Walker chose the offices of MMAC for the signing ceremony for the bill—and chose Cinco de Mayo to repeal a law that would have disproportionately helped Latino workers. As Dana Schultz, lead organizer for 9to5, put it, “Governor Walker showed his true colors—siding with corporate donors rather than with voters.”

What a guy! Walker and his field general Scott Fitzgerald!